Celestial Strategy
by The Fairy Law Consortium
Summary: In canon, Lucy Heartfilia has demonstrated that she is incredibly powerful for a Celestial mage. Unfortunately, her battle tactics are tragic. This is what happens when Loki and the Spirits decide to try and rectify this.
1. Chapter 1

Lucy groaned as she dragged herself up the stairs to her apartment. How did they do it? How did those three manage to stay so energetic all the damn time? It was inhuman! It was monstrous! It was stamina on a ridiculous level and they expected her to keep up! She fiddled with her keys for a bit, getting the right one and opening the door, fully expecting to take a long, relaxing bath and then sleep until morning. She didn't want to see a single other person until she woke up tomorrow.

"Yo, Lucy!"

"Hey, Loki."

She blinked.

"Loki! Wha- Why the hell are you in my apartment? Where's Natsu?"

Loki looked confused. "Natsu? Why would Natsu be-"

"I don't know how! He just shows up! Like you have!"

A flirting smile spread across Loki's face. "Why, my dear, might I have to fear your affections being stolen away by that fire-eating brute?"

Lucy sighed and rested her face in the palm of her hand. "Loki, please, either tell me why you're here or go away, I'm not in the mood for your flirting right now."

Loki, suddenly serious, leaned back in her armchair that he was using. "I'm here, my blonde beauty, because of a problem you have that has recently become pronounced enough for us, that is, the Spirits you hold a contract with, to be concerned."

"Wha..?"

"Lucy, you're an idiot."

Fatigue was forgotten instantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Loki scratched his head. "Lucy, let me ask you a question. Would you say Karen was a powerful Celestial Spirit Mage when she was alive?"

"Wh... I don't know. I mean, she was pretty famous, so I guess she must have been..."

"What about Angel?"

"Definitely."

"I see." Loki took a deep breath before looking her square in the eyes, "Lucy, Karen couldn't summon more than one Spirit at a time. That's why my refusal to leave the human world posed a problem for her. She just didn't have enough magical power to maintain the presence of two spirits at once. She also couldn't force closed summon gates, which is an incredibly rare ability anyway.

"Do you even understand just how much raw magical power is required to summon more than one Spirit at once? Do you know how many Celestial Spirit Mages in recent memory could? How many in _history_ have been able to? Now, how many of those wizards do you think were able to force closed their summon gates?

"You said that Angel was a powerful Celestial Mage, but in your battle with her, did you not notice that despite possessing three Golden Zodiac Keys, she only ever had one of those spirits active at once? Certainly, she used Caelum in conjunction with them a couple of times, but never two Gold Keys at once. You had more power than she did, but she knew what she was doing better than you did."

"W-Well... that's..."

"I'm not finished. While we're on the subject, I haven't mentioned the number of Golden Keys in your possession. Most Celestial Spirit Mages have only ever had one or two, or maybe even four, if they were lucky or resourceful enough. You currently have _nine_. There have only ever been a handful of Mages throughout history to hold more than six keys at once, and only one or two ever obtained all twelve. This, coupled with your great magical reserves and ability to force closed summon gates, makes you, in terms of raw power, almost certainly the most powerful Celestial Spirit Mage alive, and quite possibly one of the most powerful in history.

"Yet, despite that, you still almost lost to Angel, who by all rights should be weaker than you, and if Hibiki hadn't been there, you would have lost outright. You would also have died – and don't object. Even if Gemini couldn't bring themselves to deal the finishing blow, Angel would have been perfectly willing to drown you herself right there."

Lucy had gone quiet, digesting everything he said, while trying not to listen.

"That's why we're concerned, Lucy. You are one of the kindest mortals we've ever contracted with, as well as one of the most powerful, and yet you show no regard for strategy or tactics when you call us. You send out Taurus or Aquarius or even me whenever you can simply because, in your mind, we're the most powerful Spirits you can call upon. Lucy, you can summon more than one of us at once! We could work together in battle. We could combine our strengths with teamwork. We could be commanded far more efficiently if you just put a little thought into what you're doing!"

Lucy had long ago flopped down onto the side of her bed. She had heard everything he said. Even listened to it, as much as she didn't want to. It... hurt. It hurt being torn into like this by someone she considered a friend.

"That's why, Lucy, I'm telling you this. You're an idiot, and you need to stop being an idiot. None of us want to see you die. Not even Aquarius."

He sighed as stood up from the armchair he'd commandeered. "Well, this is probably a lot to take in at once. I'll let you sleep on it. Just know that if you want to improve on this, we'll all be behind you. Good night..." He disappeared in his usual manner, leaving Lucy with her thoughts stewing over.


	2. Chapter 2

"Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"  
>Loki appeared in the usual manner of summons, and cocked his head at Lucy in bemusement. "That wasn't necessary, you know."<p>

"I know," Lucy replied stony-faced, "I just wanted to do this properly."

"I take that to mean you're going to go ahead with this?"

She nodded. "...Yeah. You were right. I've been stupid about this. Please, Loki."

He nodded and leaned against the nearest wall. "All right. To begin, you should learn about our respective strengths and weaknesses."

"Okay, great!" There was silence as they stared at each other. "Okay, so...?"

"Oh, I'm not going to tell you."

"...Well, then who is?"

Loki smirked. "Good question. Tell me, Lucy, which of the Spirits that you currently hold a contract with would be the best choice to tell you about the other Celestial Spirits?"

"Wait, we're starting already?"

He nodded.

"Well, for information about Spirits, that would be Crux, obviously."

"..."

"..."

"Okay, that's right. So..."

Lucy finally realised what he was trying to point out.

"Oh, right!" Lucy drew Crux's key from the ring at her hip. "Open! Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!"

Crux looked up, and noticed his summoner. "Oh... hello again, Lucy-sama."

"Yo, old man." Loki waved from off to Crux's side.

"Ah, Leo-sama. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Crux nodded to himself sleepily, "Yes, quite a while..."

"I... guess so, yeah. Anyway, Lucy?"

"Crux, could you please tell me more about the abilities and weaknesses of the Golden Key Spirits?" She held her hand close to her chest, "I... I need to be smarter."

Crux smiled in approval, "Of course, Lucy-sama." He cleared his throat. "Now, where to begin? Ah, but of course, there is an order to these things.

"I will begin with Aries-sama. Aries-sama's primary abilities lie with her wool magic, which alternately impede and conceal those she wishes. The wool also possesses slight mind-altering qualities, and Aries-sama herself may pass through her wool wholly unimpeded. Her skills in hand-to-hand are not her strength, but neither are they a weakness; she may hold her own in such combat ably. Perhaps her most obvious weakness is her lack of any direct offensive magic."

Loki stepped in, "Like Crumudgeon says, Aries isn't really one for a stand-up fight. She can hold her own, no mistake, but she's not the type to win on muscle alone. She's better used to confuse the enemy so someone else has a better chance of scoring a hit."

Lucy nodded. "If they don't know where an attack is coming from, they can't dodge it."

Loki grinned. "That's right." To Crux, "Next?"

Crux nodded. "Taurus-sama's strength is exactly that. He excels at brute force, and his skill with his axe is that of a master. He is also incredibly physically resilient, able to withstand blows that most Spirits would be forced to retreat to the Celestial Realm to recover from. He possesses little in the way of ranged combat, but his axe can still be thrown with some degree of accuracy. His primary weakness would have to be his wandering eye. Taurus-sama has a great weakness for beautiful women, or as he refers to them, "sexy bodies". His massive size also makes him easy to target."

Loki shrugged. "Strong. Smashy. Distracted by pretty girls. Not much else to say."

"I noticed that much myself. It's kind of disappointing, actually..."

Crux ignored the both of them and continued with the lecture.

"Gemini-sama-tachi's strength lies in their ability to copy anyone they encounter flawlessly. They may have access to their knowledge, magical ability and current thought process in real-time. This transformation is limited to five minutes, and any knowledge gained in that form is limited to what that form actually knew. They must also come into physical contact before they may copy the subject. They are also limited to 'storing' up to two forms at once. They must discard a previous form if they wish to use another."

"There's two ways you can use Gemini, and Angel showed you both of them. First, deception. They can pretend to be anyone they can get their hands on, so if the enemy thinks Gemini is their ally, you can hit them when they least expect. The other way is more brute force. Use them to copy a power or ability you think would be useful. Or, if you're running low on magic, call out Gemini and let them summon someone else on your behalf."

Lucy's face lit up in realisation. "So it would be like I was completely fresh, while they would already be tired!"

Loki beamed, "Good, you're already starting to get it!" Crux coughed lightly, and Loki nodded sheepishly.

"Cancer-dono's strength lies with his technical skill, speed and personal obsession with precise control. In a short, quick fight, he excels, but he will quickly become bogged down if his enemies are allowed to adapt to his presence. He will either win quickly or not at all."

"Wait, why is he 'Cancer-dono' when nearly everyone else is '-sama'?"

"..."

"..."

Crux began snoring.

"DON'T FALL ASLEEP!" Loki hid a small laugh as Crux woke with a start.

"It isn't my place to say, Lucy-sama. If you really want to know, ask Cancer-dono himself."

Leo shook his head, amused. "Anyway... like he says, Cancer is all about speed and precision. If he wants to strike it, he does. If he doesn't want to strike it, he won't. Now, any situations where you think that might be useful?"

"Yep."

"...Honestly?"

"Okay, no, not yet."

Loki sighed. "Like, say, maybe there's something you want to hit, but it's right behind something you don't want to hit."

"...Oh!" Her hands came together in a 'Eureka!' gesture, "A hostage situation!"

"Good!" Loki brightened considerably, "See, Lucy, you can do it! If you can come up with this situation after just a few seconds, imagine what you could do with some serious thought!"

Lucy beamed happily at the praise, as Crux took up his lecture again.

"Leo-sama's strength is not one that is easily pinned down. It would perhaps be easier to say that his strength is his lack of any overriding weakness. He is extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and his personal brand of magic, Regulus, allows him to either reinforce that skill with power, to defend against enemy magic, or to engage in limited ranged attack."

"Well, I'm not the leader of the Zodiac Spirits for nothing," Loki preened. "After all, Lucy, I have no overriding weaknesses. I'm just perfect in every way!"

"Yes, Loki, I heard him." Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, though, while I'm a strong fighter, my abilities lack a certain subtlety. I'm a straight-up fighter, and I can't really pull anything fancy like Aries or Virgo. There will be plenty of situations where you'll want more than just a good fighter. If you ever need a timely rescue from big, nasty monsters, though, you can rely on me, Lucy."

"Virgo-sama's strength is her earth magic. Whilst Diver is her speciality, she may also use her magic for other purposes. She has always preferred imprisonment, ambush and pitfalls, and her speed and mobility while underground are unparalleled."

"Yeah, Virgo's a tricky one to use well. Ideally, the enemy shouldn't know she's there. Her Diver magic lets her move around mostly undetected, so if they don't know to watch the ground, she can take them completely unawares. Oh, and this should go without saying, but summoning her anywhere without earth or rock for her to dig through is just a waste. Like on a ship or whatever." Lucy nodded as Loki also nodded, to Crux.

"Libra-sam-"

Lucy held up a hand. "Ah- I meant only the Spirits I hold a contract with, Crux."

"Oh. Of course."Crux cleared his throat, "Scorpio-sama would profess that his strength is his Sand Buster. While he is indeed capable of quickly dispatching great numbers of weaker foes with it, a sufficiently skilled enemy would be able to withstand or avoid it. His physical resilience is a match for Taurus-sama's own, as well."

"Yeah, that's about all you need to know about Scorpio. Oh, and if you summon him along with Aquarius, she might be inclined to miss you with her attacks."

"Really?" Lucy perked up, quite rightly excited about that particular possibility.

Loki shrugged. "I said, 'might be'." Lucy slumped back down.

"Right." She waved at Crux, "Go ahead, Crux..."

"Sagittarius-dono's strength is without doubt his peerless archery skill. He also possesses a keen eye and awareness of his surroundings, and a resourceful nature able to properly capitalise on such observation. Sagittarius-dono's skill at range, however, does not translate into close combat skill. He is very fragile, and should an enemy manage to close with him, he will succumb rather easily."

"Yeah, Sagittarius may look a bit weird, but he's pretty damn smart. If he offers you advice in a fight, I'd recommend paying attention to it. Try not to let him take a hit, though; he really is very fragile."

"Um... how fragile are we talking about?"

"As fragile as Gray's state of dress."

"Un-understood..."

"Aquarius-sama's strength should be plain: She is the Celestial Spirit of Water, all water. Her control is such that she can generate tsunamis at sea or raise rivers up from the ground, sending them crashing into the enemy. As for any weaknesses, I would say perhaps her impatience. You may have noticed that she rarely stays for very long after her first attack."

Loki's expression hardened, "Aquarius is powerful. Very, very powerful. Very situational, too, but I doubt even I could take her if she was summoned somewhere like a loch or ocean. Like me, though, keep in mind that she isn't the solution to every problem you face. As a Celestial Spirit Mage, _your _strength is versatility. You need to know and choose the right tool for the job, not just the strongest one. You shouldn't, for example, use a sledgehammer on a walnut when you have a nutcracker on hand."

Lucy nodded. "I think I get it. I'm going to have to learn a lot more to choose the right Spirit in the middle of a battle, though…"

"That's the whole point of what we're doing, Lucy. Otherwise you're going to end up dead, and we're going to end up losing not only a contractor, but a friend."

Lucy's expression was set, resolute. "I'll do my best, Loki. I promise."

"Okay, now you've got the basics of our abilities. I figure it'll take you a little while to process, but we can work on other things in the meantime. Next is to train is your situational awareness. You need to be aware of what's going on around you. For example, you should have noticed and done something about Caelum against Angel. As for how to train that... I think Natsu will be happy to help." Loki smirked.

Lucy shivered as she was overcome by a sudden and intense sense of utter dread.

A note on honorifics: Japanese honorifics don't translate well into English, and are a major part of ettiquette and characterisation. For this reason, we've left them in in Japanese in places. For those that don't know, -sama is an extremely formal, polite way to refer to someone. Crux, as far as we can tell, is polite to a fault, almost excessively so, and refers to almost everyone by this title. -dono is an archaic honorific that has fallen out of use. It was the traditional way to address samurai in ancient Japan. Cancer and, to a lesser extent, Sagittarius seem somewhat samurai-like in demeanour, so we decided it was appropriate for Crux to address them as such.


End file.
